Guided locking bar

ABSTRACT

A cylinder lock comprises a cylinder housing enclosing a rotatable cylinder and an axially extending locking bar locking the cylinder with respect to the housing. The locking bar is straight and guided so that it is unable to rotate around its longitudinal axis.

0 United States Patent [l l 3,656,329 Sinervo [4 Apr. 18, 1972 54] GUIDED LOCKING BAR FOREIGN PATENTS 0R APPLICATIONS Inventor: Into v H lsinki, Finland 34,565 9/1965 Finland ..70/366 73 Assigneez 0 Wartsila Ab Helsinki, Finland 129,080 8/1950 Sweden ..70/366 [22] Filed: 1969 Primary Examiner-Marvin A. Champion [21] Appl. N0.: 811,366 Assistant ExaminerRobert L. Wolfe Att0rneyWaters, Roditi, Schwartz & Nissen [52] U.S.Cl ..70/366 70/377 51 Int. Cl ..E05 b 29/00 [57] ABSTRACT [58] Field of Search ..70/366,365,353,354,355, A cylinder k comprises a Cylinder housing enclosing 3 70/3771 419 rotatable cylinder and an axially extending locking bar locking the cylinder with respect to the housing. The locking bar is [56] References cued straight and guided so that it is unable to rotate around its lon- UNITED STATES PATENTS glwdmal aX1S- 2,613,528 10/ 1952 Salmivuori ..70/366 5 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures GUIDED LOCKING BAR The invention relates to a cylinder lock comprising a stationary cylinder housing and a turnable cylinder enclosing a number of locking disks turnable by means of the key of the lock and a locking bar locking the cylinder with respect to the cylinder housing, situated between the outer rim of the locking disks and the stationary cylinder housing and being movable from its locking position into a cylinder releasing position in a channel formed by recesses in the rim of the locking disks when lined up in a certain position.

There are two different types of this kind of lock of which one type has a guided locking bar and the other has a freely rotating locking bar. In some lock types, the guided locking bar is more useful than the rotating locking bar. Previously, the locking bar has been guided by having one end bent at right angles, and fitted to move in a radial bore in the end of the cylinder. However, this embodiment is less useful because the bent locking bar is expensive to manufacture, its bent end requires space in the axial direction of the lock, and this and the making of said bore raises the production costs of the lock.

The object of the invention is to provide a lock in which the locking bar is guided but in which the mentioned disadvantages are not present. The invention is characterized in that the locking bar is straight and guided so that it cannot turn around its longitudinal axis. This guiding is preferably performed so that at the one end of the locking bar it is provided with an axial protrusion which is narrower than the locking bar and moves in a slot in the cylinder, which slot prevents turning of the locking bar.

If the basic cross section of the locking bar is considered rectangular, the corners of the locking bar are rounded off or bevelled. However, the locking bar may also from the beginning be circular, if it has a guiding according to the invention.

In a lock according to the invention, the movement of the locking bar can be effected in a way known per se by making the one side surface of the recess for the locking bar of at least one, preferably at least two of the locking disks, and of the groove for the locking bar in the stationary cylinder housing, oblique relatively to the moving direction of the locking bar.

In the following an embodiment of the invention is described with reference to the attached drawing in which FIG. 1 shows a cross section of a lock according to the invention,

FIG. 2 shows part of the section taken in line A--A of FIG. I and FIG. 3 shows, on an enlarged scale, an end view of the guided end of the locking bar.

In the drawing, numeral 1 indicates the stationary cylinder housing of the lock, 2 the turnable cylinder, 3 the locking bar and 4 a locking disk. In the cylinder housing 1 there is a groove 5 for the locking bar, and in the locking disks 4 are corresponding recesses 6 which by means of the key of the lock are aligned at the locking bar 3, so that they form together a channel into which the locking bar 3 can move to release the cylinder 2. In FIG. 1 there is shown in dotted lines that at the back end of the locking bar 3, there is a protrusion which is narrower than the locking bar and has parallel side surfaces by means of which the locking bar is prevented from turning. In FIGS. 2 and 3 the guiding protrusion of the locking bar 3 is indicated by the numeral 7. The protrusion 7 moves in a slot 8 formed in one end of the cylinder 2. However, this is only an example of how the locking bar may be guided. It is even possible, depending on the form of the locking bar, for the side surfaces of the slot for the locking bar 3 in the cylinder 2 to be able to give a sufficient guiding of the locking bar.

FIG. 3 discloses how the corners of the locking bar in the illustrated embodiment are bevelled. In. fact bevelling or rounding of the corners is necessary only in two corners, but in order to avoid with certainty that the locking bar is inserted the wrong way, the cross section of the locking bar should be symmetrical. The invention is not limited to the embodiment shown, but several modifications of the invention are feasible within the scope of the following claims.

What IS claimed is:

1. A cylinder lock comprising a stationary cylinder housing, a rotatable cylinder in said housing having an end wall, a plurality of locking disks enclosed within said cylinder and turnable by means of a key for the operation of said lock, said disks having outer surfaces with recesses therein which are aligned when the lock is opened by the key, a locking bar located between the outer surfaces of said locking disks and said cylinder housing, said locking bar being movable into the aligned recesses from a locking position in which said bar locks rotation of said cylinder with respect to said housing to a cylinder releasing position, said locking bar being elongated and straight and including at one end thereof, an axial protrusion engaged in a radial slot provided in said end wall of said cylinder, said slot preventing rotation of said locking bar around its longitudinal axis.

2. A lock according to claim 1 in which said locking bar has a generally rectangular cross section with beveled corners.

3. A lock according to claim 1 wherein said cylinder housing has a groove for receiving a portion of said locking bar in said locking position, said groove having one side surface and at least one of the disks having one side surface of the recess thereof which are oblique relative to the direction of movement of said locking bar between said locking and said releasing positions.

4. A lock according to claim 1 wherein the cylinder has a slot in which the bar is loosely fitted to lock rotation of the cylinder.

5. A lock according to claim 1 wherein said axial protrusion has a reduced width as compared to the remainder of said bar. 

1. A cylinder lock comprising a stationary cylinder housing, a rotatable cylinder in said housing having an end wall, a plurality of locking disks enclosed within said cylinder and turnable by means of a key for the operation of said lock, said disks having outer surfaces with recesses therein which are aligned when the lock is opened by the key, a locking bar located between the outer surfaces of said locking disks and said cylinder housing, said locking bar being movable into the aligned recesses from a locking position in which said bar locks rotation of said cylinder with respect to said housing to a cylinder releasing position, said locking bar being elongated and straight and including at one end thereof, an axial protrusion engaged in a radial slot provided in said end wall of said cylinder, said slot preventing rotation of said locking bar around its longitudinal axis.
 2. A lock according to claim 1 in which said locking bar has a generally rectangular cross section with beveled corners.
 3. A lock according to claim 1 wherein said cylinder housing has a groove for receiving a portion of said locking bar in said locking position, said groove having one side surface and at least one of the disks having one side surface of the recess thereof which are oblique relative to the direction of movement of said locking bar between said locking and said releasing positions.
 4. A lock according to claim 1 wherein the cylinder has a slot in which the bar is loosely fitted to lock rotation of the cylinder.
 5. A lock according to claim 1 wherein said axial protrusion has a reduced width as compared to the remainder of said bar. 